At the 2002 Local Government Managers Australia National Congress in Sydney, FOCUS invited delegates to nominate an individual and team from their Council who are excelling in their field and promoting the organisation’s corporate goals. In this edition we showcase two more of the competition winners.
Individual Winner – Malcolm Herrmann, Director Community Services, Port Adelaide Enfield Council
Malcolm Herrmann has worked for Port Adelaide Enfield Council for almost 14 years. He is currently Director of Community Development, a position of enormous complexity in a city of more than 100,000 people that has a varied demographic profile and a broad mixture of residential, commercial and industrial activities.
As Director of Community Development, Malcolm is responsible for a wide range of services in areas that include the Customer Service and Call Centre, recreation and sporting facilities, libraries and information services, community centres, buildings and public conveniences, Indigenous affairs, youth policy including training programs, and the Port Adelaide Visitor Information Centre.
Malcolm is also responsible for the delivery of community services, the community bus program and services for the aged, cultural policy, the Parks Community Centre, crime prevention programs and Freedom of Information enquiries. Little wonder, then, that the Community Development Department is one of the largest of Port Adelaide Enfield Council’s Directorates, employing 139 full time staff and up to 100 casual staff, who deliver their services from 12 locations throughout the City.
Before joining the then Port Adelaide Council in 1988, Malcolm had been employed in the State Public Service for 20 years. The public service experience enabled Malcolm to gain an insight into the operations of Local Government from a State Government perspective.
“I was able to establish a wide range of network links which proved to be invaluable,” he said.
In 1993, the Port Adelaide Council restructured and Malcolm was appointed Manager of Community Services. Following amalgamation, Malcolm was appointed Manager Parks Community Centre, a large and vibrant community facility that provides sports and recreation, youth, theatre, art and craft, and library facilities, and is managed by Council under a contract with the State Government.
“In 1997, I took on a new role of Manager Environmental Services, responsible for the administration work of this department,” Malcolm said. “After wide community consultation through some very spirited meetings, I was able to draft new policies for keeping multiple numbers of dogs on residential properties, selling goods from roadways and licensing mobile food vans.”
In February 2002, Malcolm was appointed Director Community Development Department. His additional responsibilities have included being an active member of Council’s Occupational Health, Welfare and Safety Committee, and he is now a member of the IT Strategy Committee, Management Executive Team, Special Projects Group and an active participant in social club activities; and a member of the Port Adelaide Community Services Committee.
One of the key tasks that lies ahead for Malcolm is the implementation of a recently completed recreation strategy. This has identified seven primary areas as priorities on which to focus over the next three years.
Malcolm’s hard work over the years has won him wide support from his Council’s elected members. “I have always found Malcolm to be a person who has the community at heart,” said Joyce Snadden, a Councillor for the past 20 years, who nominated Malcolm.“I remember well that in the former Port Adelaide Council there were no programs for the development of recreation areas. Malcolm was able to convince the Council to implement such a strategy to address this problem. Consequently, playgrounds and reserves were upgraded quickly. Malcolm undertook community consultation with residents and interest groups to ensure that Council provided what the residents wanted.”
Malcolm said that some of the highlights of his career with Port Adelaide Enfield Council include assisting Port Adelaide Football Club with its successful application to join the AFL, increasing the size of the Council area, implementing a marketing plan for the Parks Community Centre (Sports Centre), and completion of the Recreation Strategy that will guide Council in the provision of recreation and sporting services and facilities. He likes his role in Local Government and his closeness to the local community, “I’m never more than a phone call away,” he said. “I am also very fortunate in having managers and staff who share my enthusiasm for providing the best possible standard of service to the community. Without their support many of these policies would be difficult to implement.”
Team Winner – Workshop Mechanical Services Team, Ballina Shire Council, New South Wales
When Ballina Shire equipment needs repairing who do they turn to? The Workshop Mechanical Services Team.
Ballina Shire is located on the New South Wales north coast, approximately two and a half hours south of Brisbane and nine hours north of Sydney. It is in a rural coastal locality and the Shire enjoys temperate to subtropical climate. The Shire occupies 487 square kilometres and has a population of approximately 40,000 people.
The Workshop Mechanical Services Team has 14 members, one of whom is a casual staff member, and three of whom are apprentices. The Team Leader is Mark Graham-Jones. They primarily undertake running and maintenance of all of Council’s normal plant equipment, providing maintenance support to Council’s quarry operations, concrete plant and trucks, recycling facility, vehicular ferry and sewer pump stations/treatment plants.
In addition to this, the team provides support to Council in investigating and undertaking repairs to Council’s amenities and other properties.
“The team provides an integral support to Council’s operations to ensure that all essential operations continue to operate as efficiently as possible,” said Council’s General Manager and nominator of the team, Stuart McPherson. “Their work is important to Council having a commitment to promoting inhouse services, reducing the need to contract out functions.”
Following a restructure in 1999, the team introduced efficiency and productivity changes. These included flexible working hours, new software for record keeping and projected service information, increased skills and knowledge and a commitment toreviewing its competitiveness with external providers.
“Our project work is costed to the budget and, wherever possible, the team works together to ensure that costs are minimal; and we work together in combining all of our experience and problem solving to undertake tasks, including technical capability reviews,” said Team Leader, Mark Graham-Jones. “Through ensuring that the jobs are undertaken in budget limitation, this assists Council operations as maintenance and repairs can be undertaken inhouse with minimal disruption to each section, while still providing a high level of service.”
The team’s ability to work within the parameters set before it, and at the same time deliver top class service, has been commended by both Council and the community.
“They display a positive attitude towards their work and work very well together as a team,” said Stuart McPherson. “They are willing to be flexible in their working hours and duties to provide the highest possible level of support to Council. In addition, the team is very supportive of apprentices and is continually identifying ways to improve how the workshop operates. Council staff members understand the enormous workload for the workshop team, however they have said that they are always friendly and willing to provide assistance wherever needed.”
The team is also known throughout the Ballina community for the charity work that it has undertaken. Recently, Council donated a four wheel drive support vehicle to the Ballina High School marine staff for the school’s marine program.
Along with the school’s other vehicles for the marine program, the workshop mechanical services team has volunteered its time to maintain these vehicles. The team sheds the vehicles overnight and checks them, whenever these vehicles are used.
It is also expected that within the coming few months, the team will convert the vehicles to diesel power with senior chemistry students from the high school who have manufactured biodiesel to run them.
“I like the variety and challenges that our work provides,” said Mark Graham-Jones. “Our team undertakes numerous large projects which are outside of normal everyday work.”
